Finding The Shadowhunters
by Audrey Girl
Summary: A 17-year-old girl meets a character from the fictional book series she is reading, who tells her that all the stories she has read and believed in her whole life have are true, but most people are too blinded by the label "fiction."
1. Chapter 1

Audrey lived a normal life of a 17-year-old in Ann Arbor Michigan. She participated in numerous musical ensembles, had a job and an affinity for vocabulary and fictional stories. She had never given up the hope that magic existed somewhere just out of reach. She longed to reach it. To finally be able to know her faith was not unfounded. She had that opportunity when she read a new series her sister had read and told her not to read. It was called the Mortal Instruments. She was so taken with the story, of a world of people that normal, "mundanes" couldn't see. She wished with every fiber of her being she could see it. Because, if mundanes couldn't see it, what was to prevent it from being real?

Audrey worked at a second-hand fashion clothing store across the street from her house. She had been working as a sales associate for almost 2 years there. That's where she finally found the magic she had believed in for so long. She had just taken a 15-minute break when and was putting clothes back where they belonged when she saw a figure in all black in the men's section, just standing there. "Shadowhunter gear," she thought to herself. Shaking her head quickly, she dismissed the thought as fast as she could, but the residue still clung in her brain and she couldn't think of anything else to call it. She had to put some men's long sleeve shirts back and she couldn't help brushing past him.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she said as she always did when she had to put away clothes in a spot a customer was shopping. She hurriedly put away the shirts and went back to the front counter to grab more. Looking back, she saw him staring at her, but she couldn't quite see his face because of his hood. He followed her around the store and didn't leave after it closed, but he continued to follow her around. As she started straightening the men's section, which was her task for closing that night, she confronted him.

"Can I help you?" she asked, stopping her straightening and trying to not sound like she felt small. The boy all in black was at least 6 foot, maybe a little less, but she only reached his shoulders and she was 5 foot 7 and a half inches tall.

"How can you see me?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Should I not be able to?" she asked back, taking his cue and bringing her voice down to just above a whisper.

"Normally, no. Mundanes can't see us, usually," he replied. She froze at the word "mundanes" and turned to him, eyes wide in disbelief. "What?" he demanded, looking a little worried. "Did I say something wrong? You wouldn't be the first person to react badly to be called a mundie," he speculated.

"No! It's not that! It's just, I'm reading a book where humans are called 'Mundanes', and, I, well..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"What's this book?" he asked quietly, but the intensity was obvious. She briefly described The Mortal Instruments series.

"Wow," he muttered to himself.

"What? Is something wrong?" she asked, a little apprehensive.

"No. It's just that you are the first mundane to truly believe in the stories the rest of the world calls fiction," he explained softly. "You should probably continue to work or someone is going to wonder what you're up to." She hadn't even noticed that she had stopped straightening. She hurriedly continued her work and they stood in silence for a while, other than the blair of the store's music, the dwindling chatter of the other customers, and the squeals of the hangers on the racks as the employees started to close the store for the night. Soon, there were no more customers in the store, other than the stranger whom only Audrey could see. She grabbed the step stool and went to straighten the top rack of men's t-shirts. The stranger in black followed her over and stood next to her, and they continued their previous conversation.

"So, what does this mean? The fact that I can see you and believe the stories?" she asked, turning towards him, but this time not stopping her work.

"I guess you just become a part of this world now," he replied with a shrug. Audrey couldn't help it. She stopped straightening and faced him head on.

"Really?" Her whisper was so intense the stranger glanced up. By having to look up at her, she could finally see his face. She gasped quietly. She recognized those golden eyes.

"What do you mean? Is that a bad thing?"

"No! I've been dreaming about the books I have read coming to life, heck, I've been writing about that. It's been all I can think of most of the time. I have longed for it with every fiber of my being., wishing that I could become a part of the 'fictional' worlds that I love more than the reality I have lived for my entire life." After that, they were silent, since the manager had turned off the music in the store and her talking would be more noticeable. She finished straightening her section and running the rest of the clothes from the late shoppers, and then she was done. She grabbed her coat from the back room, clocked out, and was let out of the store, with the invisible black stranger behind her the entire time. When she got outside, the guy placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?" Audrey asked. He paused, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets before answering.

"Why do you trust me so easily? How do you know I'm not some sort of madman who's about to completely annihilate you?" he asked.

"Because you are a shadowhunter, and you would never do that, Jace Lightwood," she said, pausing before his name. When she said his name, Jace chuckled.

"When did you figure that out? I heard you gasp in the store when you faced me while straightening the top rack. What gave me away?" he asked as they started walking across the parking lot towards her car.

"Your eyes. Ms. Clare described you pretty vividly in the books" she replied, shrugging again. She pulled out her keys and unlocked her car doors. She slid into the driver's seat while Jace got in the passenger's side.

"You can drive a stick?" he asked, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm still learning," she said, starting the car and fastening her seat belt. She turned on the radio, changing the station to jazz. She relaxed back into her seat and turned her head to Jace, who had watched her do all this next to her.

"You like jazz," he asked.

"Yeah. Mostly at night, though. Now, where am I taking you?" she asked back

"Can I just come with you to your house? I know that sounds creepy and all, but I have nowhere else to go," he asked with a shrug. So she shifted the car into first gear, released the parking break and started for her house. she shifted the car into first gear, released the parking break and started for her lived a normal life of a 17-year-old in Ann Arbor Michigan. She participated in numerous musical ensembles, had a job and an affinity for vocabulary and fictional stories. She had never given up the hope that magic existed somewhere just out of reach. She longed to reach it. To finally be able to know her faith was not unfounded. She had that opportunity when she read a new series her sister had read and told her not to read. It was called the Mortal Instruments. She was so taken with the story, of a world of people that normal, "mundanes" couldn't see. She wished with every fiber of her being she could see it. Because, if mundanes couldn't see it, what was to prevent it from being real?

Audrey worked at a second-hand fashion clothing store across the street from her house. She had been working as a sales associate for almost 2 years there. That's where she finally found the magic she had believed in for so long. She had just taken a 15-minute break when and was putting clothes back where they belonged when she saw a figure in all black in the men's section, just standing there. "Shadowhunter gear," she thought to herself. Shaking her head quickly, she dismissed the thought as fast as she could, but the residue still clung in her brain and she couldn't think of anything else to call it. She had to put some men's long sleeve shirts back and she couldn't help brushing past him.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she said as she always did when she had to put away clothes in a spot a customer was shopping. She hurriedly put away the shirts and went back to the front counter to grab more. Looking back, she saw him staring at her, but she couldn't quite see his face because of his hood. He followed her around the store and didn't leave after it closed, but he continued to follow her around. As she started straightening the men's section, which was her task for closing that night, she confronted him.

"Can I help you?" she asked, stopping her straightening and trying to not sound like she felt small. The boy all in black was at least 6 foot, maybe a little less, but she only reached his shoulders and she was 5 foot 7 and a half inches tall.

"How can you see me?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Should I not be able to?" she asked back, taking his cue and bringing her voice down to just above a whisper.

"Normally, no. Mundanes can't see us, usually," he replied. She froze at the word "mundanes" and turned to him, eyes wide in disbelief. "What?" he demanded, looking a little worried. "Did I say something wrong? You wouldn't be the first person to react badly to be called a mundie," he speculated.

"No! It's not that! It's just, I'm reading a book where humans are called 'Mundanes', and, I, well…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"What's the name of this book?" he asked quietly, but the intensity was obvious.

"The series is called 'The Mortal Instruments,'" she paused, gauging his reaction. All she could see was a little tenseness, but that was it. "The books are called, in order, 'City of Bones, Ashes, Fallen Angels, Lost Souls, and Heavenly Fire.'" He exhaled slowly when she was done listing them.

"Thought so" he muttered to himself.

"Are we not supposed to have them?" Audrey asked, apprehensive for not only herself but for the rest of the humans as well.

"No. It's just that you are the first mundane to truly believe in the stories the rest of the world calls fiction," he explained softly. "You should probably continue to work or someone is going to wonder what you're up to." She hadn't even noticed that she had stopped straightening. She hurriedly continued her work and they stood in silence for a while, other than the blast of the store's music, the dwindling chatter of the other customers, and the squeals of the hangers on the racks as the employees started to close the store for the night. Soon, there were no more customers in the store, other than the stranger whom only Audrey could see. She grabbed the step stool and went to straighten the top rack of men's t-shirts. The stranger in black followed her over and stood next to her, and they continued their previous conversation.

"So, what does this mean? The fact that I can see you and believe the stories?" she asked, turning towards him, but this time not stopping her work.

"I guess you just become a part of this world now," he replied with a shrug. Audrey couldn't help it. She stopped straightening and faced him head on.

"Really?" Her whisper was so intense the stranger glanced up. By having to look up at her, she could finally see his face. She gasped quietly. She recognized those golden eyes.

"What do you mean? Is that a bad thing?"

"No! I've been dreaming about the books I have read coming to life, heck, I've been writing about that. It's been all I can think of most of the time. I have longed for it with every fiber of my being., wishing that I could become a part of the 'fictional' worlds that I love more than the reality I have lived for my entire life." After that, they were silent, since the manager had turned off the music in the store and her talking would be more noticeable. She finished straightening her section and running the rest of the clothes from the late shoppers, and then she was done. She grabbed her coat from the back room, clocked out, and was let out of the store, with the invisible black stranger behind her the entire time. When she got outside, the guy placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?" Audrey asked. He paused, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets as if trying to make up his mind about something. Audrey could see pain and conflict cross his face as if he was thinking of unpleasant memories and trying to decide what to do with his life.

"Why don't we go to my car and you can keep thinking about it." she said kindly.

"Why do you trust me so easily? How do you know I'm not some sort of madman who's about to completely annihilate you?" he asked, weary and suspicious and worried. But she just smiled and tucked her hand through his arm, guiding him gently across the parking lot to her car.

"Because you are a shadowhunter, and you would never do that, Jace Lightwood," she said, pausing before his name. When she said his name, Jace chuckled.

"When did you figure that out? I heard you gasp in the store when you faced me while straightening the top rack. What gave me away?" he asked.

"Your eyes. Ms. Clare described you pretty vividly in the books" she replied, shrugging again. She pulled out her keys and unlocked her car doors. She slid into the driver's seat while Jace got in the passenger's side.

"You can drive a stick?" he asked, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm still learning," she said, starting the car and fastening her seat belt. She turned on the radio, changing the station to jazz. She relaxed back into her seat and turned her head to Jace, who had watched her do all this next to her.

"You like jazz," he asked.

"Yeah. Mostly at night, though. Now, where am I taking you?" she asked back.

"Can I just come with you to your house? I know that sounds creepy and all, but I have nowhere else to go," he said quietly, looking uncharacteristically down at his hands. Audrey got the impression that he was in some emotional pain, and without any hesitation or words, she shifted the car into first gear, released the parking break and started for her house.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking into her house with an invisible stranger was weird. Luckily she always opened doors really wide when going through them so Jace was able to slip through as well. It was past 10, and her mother hadn't stayed up for her that night. Audrey locked the front door behind her and led Jace through the house to her bedroom.

"Sorry it's so messy," she said before turning on her light, illuminating her room which was in a state of almost disaster. She hung her work bag on its hook and started to clean off one of the beds in her room for Jace to use. Jace stood in her door, watching and observing. Audrey's room was not very big, but not very small, with light pink walls, a light purple ceiling, and hot pink trim. She had a window facing south, with her desk to the left of it and her bed to the right. She had stuff hanging on every wall, from Volleyball to Lord of the Rings to nature posters, pictures of various people and places she had been too. She had one band poster from a special concert she performed at and a beautiful painting of a girl and wolf in blue monochrome on her wall as well.

"So, I can't pull out the trundle, because then my family would wonder what's going on. I hope you don't mind" Audrey said, snapping him out of his reverie. He smiled at her concerned face.

"I don't mind," he said reassuringly. She didn't look very convinced, but she let it slide. She walked over to one of her dressers and pulled out some pajamas.

"I'll be right back, feel free to make yourself at home," she said and walked into the bathroom to change. She brushed her teeth and went to back to her room to find Jace lounging on the trundle, asleep. She smiled gently, spread out a blanket over him, quickly brushed her hair, turned off the light, and climbed in bed. But she couldn't fall asleep. She was still reeling from the knowledge that the stories were true. They are true! Clary, and Isabelle, and Simon, they are all real. she thought. So are Sebastian, and Valentine. But you have to take the good with the bad. That means demons are also real...I can't believe I get to be part of this world! It seems like something that would only happen to someone else. With that, she fell asleep, feeling blessed beyond compare.

A shout woke up Audrey a few hours after she fell asleep. She drowsily turned over in her bed and raised her head to glance at her alarm clock. It was 1:30 am. Her head dropped, but she remained tense, waiting for the sound that woke her in the first place. She waited, straining to hear anything out of the ordinary, but hearing nothing unusual. Just as she had started to relax again, there came a muffled crash from the basement. She froze, and sat up slowly in her bed. She could just hear the sounds of a scuffle coming from below her feet. Steeling herself, she slowly and silently swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and crept out of her now open bedroom door, and peered out. She saw the basement door slightly ajar when she clearly remembered it being shut when she went to bed earlier that night. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, she slowly approached the stairs to the basement, which she proceeded to tiptoe as best she could down to her basement. From one side she could see a strange white light gleaming from under the cracks around the door, which also stood slightly open. She successfully made it down the stairs, apparently without drawing any attention to herself. She looked into the room that held her families washer and dry, her dad's workbench and tools, and her mom's sewing area. What she saw caused to freeze up even more. Jace stood with his back to the door, with two blazing objects in his hands - a witchlight and a seraph blade- facing a demon. The demon was tall and scaly, with an elongated human-like body and glittering ruby-red eyes full of anger. It was hissing at Jace, revealing a mouth full of pointed teeth that jutted out in every direction. Its arms were long, and serpentine, ending in eel-like heads. Audrey recognized it from the 4th Mortal Instruments book, The City of Lost Souls. A Vetis demon.

What is one of those doing here?! she screamed in her head. She subconsciously put her hand out to steady herself, but it met the open doors, causing her to fall forward into the room with a slight squeak, the door swinging open with a bang. Both shadowhunter and demon paused, and Jace turned slightly, to look at the cause of the noise. Audrey glanced up from the ground where she lay, straight into the eyes of the demon, who grinned evilly.

"Well now," it rasped with a dry chuckle, "there is no need for us to continue this fight. The girl is here, I will go now, and she will come with started forward with its arm starting to stretch out towards her when Jace lept in the way.

"She's not going anywhere," he said firmly. The demon hissed again, louder this time. Audrey couldn't help the small shush that came out of her. The demon stared at her, appalled.

"Jace, my family. If they hear anything…" she started, needed not go any further, for Jace, using the demon's distraction, swung his blade with a bright flash, slicing off the demon's head. He turned back to her, as the body and ichor vanished, leaving nothing but the mess of the basement behind. Audrey tucked up her legs, grateful that she had decided to sleep in her sweat pants, for the concrete floor was freezing cold under her hands and bare feet.

"How did you get down here so quietly?" Jace asked. "I didn't hear anything until you fell into the room." He held his hand out to help her up.

"I learned how the Native Americans used to walk when they were hunting. It has always worked better when I don't have anything on my feet," she explained as she grasped his hand and got hauled up. She glanced around the room and sighed.

"What?" Jace asked, a tiny bit of worry creeping onto his voice.

"How am I going to clean up this mess?" she muttered in response, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head, overwhelmed by the caliber of disaster the fight had caused. But Jace just chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder.

"I'll take care of it. Clary created a rune that put her apartment back together and showed it to me. I'll use that. Watch." He took out his stele and drew the rune on his forearm, and waved it gently through the air. Audrey watched as everything was fixed and put back in its spot.

"Shall we?" Jace asked when he was done, gesturing to the door like proper gentlemen and butlers do in movies and books to lead the way. Audrey smiled and they walked back upstairs to her room. closing all the doors behind them. Climbing into bed, Audrey couldn't help remarking,

"Well, that was an interesting and terrifying way to start the day. I wonder what is going to happen next?"

"Sleep is." was Jace's reply. Laughing, they both curled up and went to sleep.

Info on the Vetis Demon came from wiki/Vetis


End file.
